Day five of my trip (OK, it's really day seven, but I'm only counting flying days...), and we're in Olympia, Washington.

We were off the ground early on a cold (44 degrees) and clear mountain day. The airplane was happy to climb in the cool, dense air, and we were up at 8,500 feet in very little time. While KGPI is in a valley, it's surrounded by mountains which go up well over 6,000 feet, so climbing is essential.

The first part was over the mountains of western Montana and eastern Idaho.

About two hours from Glacier, we passed Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington, and we were back over flat and dry plains.

The plains are table-top flat and dry. This is Harrington, Washington, where the railroad and highway split, only to rejoin some miles further on.

A spiral pond?

Circular irrigators are common in eastern Washington. This is a particularly interesting cluster, with some of the fields subdivided like a math teacher demonstrating pie charts.

Before long the snow-covered cone of Mt. Ranier appeared on the horizon, and stayed there for more than an hour as we crossed the Cascades.

Even at 8,500 feet, the mountains to the north of our course towered above us.

Finally, we flew close by the huge mountain, passing just north of the national park which encompasses it.

With a little rerouting to avoid Seattle's Class B, we descended to land at KOLM, Olympia Airport.

We've spent the day in Olympia, touring the state capitol and walking along the waterfront. John will be leaving tomorrow morning to catch a flight back home, while I continue on to Newport, Oregon.